Disclaimer: Just…ignore this part. I know I do.

A/N-Please read this because you should know by now that my authors notes are important. I wanted to inform you that story has several problems and conflicts in it and just because the initial problem has been solved-Fang's worry about what happened to the Flock and if they made the right choice sacrificing themselves-doesn't mean that this is it for this story. Trust me when I say that this story will end up being long because I will add some familiar enemies into the mix. There is a reason I had Omega in the first chapter other than to force the Flock to kill themselves. Man, I just realized how much suicide is in this story. Wow. The things you realize when you think them over. (When I read The Forest of Hands and Teeth I didn't realize it was about a zombie apocalypse til I read the authors note at end; they were just crazed sick people in my head.)

LPOV:

We got back to Emily's house after midnight.

We had gone out to eat. A rare thing for us Pack members since we eat so much and well…food costs money. So McDonalds was very happy to see a pack of werewolves come through their doors; not that the employees knew.

So we had just gotten back to their house where Max and Old Quil were. Both were staying in different guest bedrooms. Max had been sleeping all day to my amazement and Old Quil was staying there to keep an eye on her if she woke before we got back from a long day of searching. We had combed through all of La Push and Forks today, along with the leftover forests that were within our territory. Sam and Emily even went to Port Angelus just incase.

But still we found nothing, nothing at all. How could one boy disappear from face of the earth like this? I suspected the Cullens had something to do with the missing birdkid, as Max called herself, but Sam demanded that we leave the bloodsuckers alone since we had no viable reason to go marching over there. Plus, if they didn't know anything it was wrong to let Max's secret out through our thoughts. That mindreading bloodsucker is pretty annoying when it comes to keeping secrets, well secret.

So we opened the door and I was assaulted with Max's human-bird scent. It had only been in the kitchen briefly, but the direction it came from and was headed to the living room. Max must have woken up and gotten something to eat. I felt guilty for not getting her something since she ate like we did but I pushed the feeling away; we had plenty of food here, I'm sure she got something. Or was I guilty about something else?

I walked into the living room with Jake and Seth flanking me I was surprised to only see Old Quil stretched out on the couch asleep, the TV still running on some 50's program that was in black and white; the TV of his days.

"Old Quil?" I asked. He jerked up instantly and looked at us three werewolves with drowsy eyes.

"Leah? Seth, Jacob? What's going on, what time is it?" He said. He must have been asleep for a long time. Max's bird scent was all over this room.

"I think Max is awake; her scent is all over this room. Where is she?" I said.

Old Quil looked surprised. "I don't know. She wasn't awake when I was and I didn't hear her wake so I don't know."

"We need to find her." I said. That guilty feeling came over me again and it wasn't about the food this time, I was sure.

Something very, very wrong was going on.

I sprinted to Max's room with Seth on my tail and I pulled the unlocked door open.

Empty.

The bad feeling in my stomach increased.

"She's not in her room!" I yelled out.

"Where could she go?" Seth asked.

"The forest; where she lost Fang." I said without thought, but I realized that it made perfect sense. We went back to the living room and met up with Jacob and Sam.

"I heard what you said and you're right; her scent leads out the back door. Let's go. Old Quil, you call the Pack; we have a missing girl on our hands."

"And maybe much worse than that." I added.

We dashed out the door and followed her scent through the trees on human feet. Changing would waste precious time.

Soon I spotted a flash of blonde-streaked brown in the treetops.

"There!" I said pointing.

It was Max all right. She was on a branch about a hundred feet into the air, balancing precariously. She was fully dressed with thick cotton covering her wings. Her face twinkled in the moonlight and it made me think it was wet.

Her face got me though. It was contorted in pain and anger like I had never seen before. The anger left after a second and was now only her anguish was left.

She was in pain.

I knew what grief did to people. I had experienced enormous grief before and trust me, losing the most important person in your world can bend you and break you. And Max had been bent too far and had broken.

This meant only one thing. She had somehow gotten news that Fang had died.

Her face twinkled in the light again and I realized she was crying.

She then did the unexpected. Max jumped from the branch, her wings still trapped beneath the thick clothing she was wearing.

I didn't even see the ring of brown rope around her neck til she was jerked up by the force of the material.

"MAX!" I screamed at her. I was echoed by three male voices. No! She was killing herself! No!

Even when it seemed like such a happy option I never tried to kill myself after Sam imprinted. I knew it would kill my family and brother so I didn't consider it an option.

But Max had no family left. Her family and her friends were all dead and now so was the love of her life. I don't think I could comprehend such pain if Seth, Sam, Sue, and the Pack all died. I would be lost and would probably never find my way back to sanity again.

But no matter how much I would internally agree with her decision I knew I had to stop her.

Seth and Jake jumped forward jumped forward and exploded simultaneously. The black and sandy wolves both leaped up in an attempt to get their jaws around the rope and cut it with their teeth. But not even Jake, with his massive size and uber strength, could reach that high and not hurt Max. Meanwhile Max was reaching and grasping in an effort to save her own life. Her hands clawed at the rope while her face slowly became pale from loss of oxygen.

Sam threw himself forward like he guys and exploded out of his clothes for the first time in about a year. He had never been in a situation where he didn't have time to undress first but this was different; a girl was dying.

I followed the guys' example and morphed with my clothes still on. They stretched until my body became too big and then I was the familiar furry creature that I was more often than not.

Max! Seth shouted. How are we going to get to her? If we try to snap the rope we'll snap her! Seth was beyond anxious and just as clueless as to what to do. She was pretty high up.

My larger wolf eyes could now see the finer details and I saw the tears that streamed down the fourteen year old girl's face as she choked. Her face was starting to turn blue and her strugglings were becoming weaker.

My thought made Sam go into overload with thought as to how and get her down in time. One arrant thought that passed through his head for only a second caught my attention.

Sam, that's a perfect idea! Hurry, Jacob get fight under Max we'll pile up on top of each other. I yelled in my haste. Sam didn't even reply to me before Jacob was in position under Max. She is moving less and less now…

Sam quickly jump on Jacob's back since he was the second largest. Seth had trouble trying to get up until he used my back to get on Sam. We still wouldn't be able to get her down til I got on Seth's back.

To bad I was too small to get up there by myself.

You're a genius Leah. Jake said angrily. He wasn't under much of stress from the weight but was pissed that Max wasn't safe yet. That was when just what we need arrived.

Quil and Embry busted into the part of the forest we were in. They didn't even look up before exploding into wolves.

They saw what we were thinking and stacked on top of each other in an instant.

OK, I could get on them. I hopped on their backs like a stepping stone to get on Seth's.

When I was them I came face to face with Maximum Ride. Her tear-stricken face was almost completely blue and I her struggling was close to none.

I lifted my big head and snapped the rope with my teeth. Max fell from where she hung underneath the branch and I saw Jared catch her in his arms. When had he gotten here?

I leaped off the guys and they followed my example.

Is she alive? Is she OK? Is she alive? Is she OK? Seth chanted the questions in a constant worried stream. I was thinking the same things.

Jake and I were just standing there worriedly, trembling. Seth was pacing back and forth with that chant running through his mind. Sam was leaning over Max with human Jared, Paul, Collin, and Brady. Embry and Quil had run off to get Sue who was currently at the house.

Shut up Seth, you aren't helping. I growled.

Is she alive? Is she OK? He ignored me and continued.

Shut up all of you! Sam commanded before running into the trees and emerging a minute later as a human.

"Get that rope off her neck now!" Sam yelled at the guys. They had been frozen in shock and fear but now they moved at lightning speeds. Paul and Jared ripped the rope off her neck a second and Collin and Brady started to pump Max's chest up and down, trying to get her to breath.

Sam pushed the kids out of the way and pumped Max's chest furiously. He then blew his breath into her mouth in an effort to get her to breathe again. I was instinctually jealous until I snapped out of it; Sam was just trying to save her life.

Now of all times Leah? Jacob mentally screamed at me.

Sorry, can't help it, I whimpered back, shame overtaking me.

Sam worked for a few minutes, anxiousness taking over the longer he worked. Yet Max didn't start breathing. We all held our breath, not breathing.

Just like Max.

No, no! She had to live, she just had to! She was an angel; they don't die. Angels save people; they don't need people to save them. And she was such a great person too. Her personality was exactly like mine and we got along easily. We both enjoyed messing with the guys, loved to make sarcastic remarks, and we both had a temper. She made me feel like I wasn't the only female freak out their; and vampires didn't count. She was a tough girl who lived in a super natural world all alone in one way or another, just like me.

She was a great friend. She had to live.

Then Max's breathe whooshed out of her and her chest started to move. Her eyes popped open and ragged breathes started to come out her. She attempted to get propped up on her elbows but failed almost immediately.

"SHE'S ALIVE!" I screamed in joy. My friend had lived!

I looked up to the where Max's eyes were trained, ready to thank God above for the luck. To my shock I saw four winged children flying circles around us, high in the sky. They were laughing and yelling yet no words reached my ears. I blinked and they disappeared.

"Thank you." I murmured anyway.

After a few minutes of coughing and gasping Max's breathing finally became normal again but the tears didn't stop.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore.

"What. The. Hell. You tried to KILL yourself! What is wrong with you?"

Max's face was calm even though tears continued down her face.

"Fang died." She said simply.

I froze, feeling bad for bringing it up; hadn't I already come up with this conclusion? I guess I just really needed to hear it from her. After a second she continued.

"I could feel it. The world and all meaning of life just left me…Then I jumped and you guys came along and saved me…And then I could feel the world come back together again and I started to breathe again." She was timid when she said this and knew that even though it was my nature, I couldn't be made at her. She had done the only option available; I had to applaud her for her courage. I don't think I would have it in me to kill myself. I would just end up locked in some room for the rest of my existence, or until I starved.

Apparently everybody else had the power in them to be mad at her.

"You idiot-"

"How could you even think-"

"Insane! You're absolutely-"

"I agree! Maximum Ride has-"

"—could have DIED! Don't you-"

"-INSANE! How you've l-"

"-gone off the deep end!"

"Where did your brain go when you thought of this?"

"-see?-when you're dead you're gone for good!"

"Please explain to me what you were thinking-"

"-ived this long I'll never know!"

"You're lucky we showed up when we did."

"Got that right."

"-so that I can beat that kind of thinking out of you!"

"You need therapy."

I'd gotten a little fed up with the guy's yelling at her; even Sam. Plus, Max was starting to look guiltier and guiltier. She didn't need that.

I pulled myself together again and Jared handed me clothes, respectively looking away.

"OK, OK! I know that Max made a mistake but lay off assholes. She nearly died, remember. She needs room and oxygen. Why don't you guys go alert everyone that she's OK?" I commanded.

Most of the guys glared at me but the younger ones nodded in complete loyalty; they didn't know what to do beyond yelling at her and were eager to follow any orders that were given by an older wolf. The guys who had been wolves longer were the ones that glared, not liking my bossy attitude.

"Leah," Sam began but I cut him off.

"No Sam. You all will listen to me right now because you all obviously don't understand what is going on here with Max. So back off listen to a girl for once; this is a girl thing. And you can't control me here Sam." I glared at him and he glared back before following the younger ones-Seth, Collin, and Brady-to his house. The rest of the Pack followed til it was just me and Max.

I leaned her up against a tree so that I could face her. I sat on my knees and looked Max in the eye-the only way she'll respect you is if you do that.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, plain and simple.

Max managed a weak smile. "I am now. I could feel he was dead but now everything feels alright with the world now, so he's alive."

I wasn't bothered by her reasoning; it made sense to me.

"OK." I sighed and looked down at my knees; I didn't know what to say anymore.

"Thank you," Max said and her voice rang with honesty and appreciation. "You helped save me not only from my own grief but from my guilt that the guys were putting on me. Though they're right it still hurt to have it confirmed."

I smiled at her. "I don't think they are-you did the only thing that seemed right, and that was to join him. I don't judge you for that-"

"There's a shocker." Max murmured. I ignored her aside from a scowl in her direction.

"-even though I should. But I understand. I understand how hopeless you felt and how you wished the world was playing some sick cruel joke on you. How you wished you could destroy reality and make it heaven again, like the old days…" I started to tear up, no longer really speaking about Max but me, and Max gave me a one-armed hug.

"It's OK Leah. I understand what you are saying or at least trying to say. You get it, you understand. That's enough for me. But I need you to understand something else too…" Max trailed off, looking into the woods.

"What?" I asked, curious.

Max looked me in the eye again and saw the need in her eyes. "I'm leaving. I need to find Fang, I need to find him now…" She almost groaned in desolation. "I need to be able to see his face again, to look into his black eyes and feel complete and happy and safe again. I need to have the last piece of my family back. So I'm leaving to search on my own.

"It's not that I don't appreciate you guys helping me- on the contrary, I appreciate it more than you will ever know since I can't do that weird mind-connecting thing you werewolves do. I just…I need to be the one to find him myself. I want to be the one to first lay eyes on him after so long. My wings are all the way healed now, along with the rest of me, so I can fly and stuff again. I had been planning to leave and search alone before I felt…" He face was pained and I saw her quickly push those thoughts away.

"But I'm hoping you get it so I can leave now and find him a soon as possible." She begged me. Whoa, Maximum Ride begging, this seemed unlike her.

I nodded. "I get it Max. I have been in love before and still am. Go find him-I'll break it to the guys. I wish you luck from the Quileute werewolf pack." I gave her a big smile of encouragement and Max nodded and gave one right back.

Then I stood, pulling her up with me. Max took off both her sweatshirts to reveal a simple t-shirt. It had slits cut into it, revealing her wings. I gazed in amazement; they were beautiful now that they were fully healed, white with brown freckled spots on them.

"No matter what you say Max, I still think you're an angel." I told her, gazing jealously at her wings; they were beautiful and I wished I had my own so I could fly above the world and get lost in the winds.

"Well no matter what you say you're still a good eraser-like my brother-to me so we're even." She said.

Then she took off running, spreading her wings out behind her and jumped into the air. She started to fall at first but then her wings started flapping and she rose. And rose. And rose.

Max rose higher and higher til she was overtop the trees. I stood there, amazed, as she moved higher and higher. She stopped at the treetops and looked down at me.

"Goodbye!" I yelled to her, waving. Max waved back and then flew away til I could no longer see her.

I just stayed there and stared at the last spot I saw her when Jake's voice yelled out to me.

"Leah! What the hell are you doing just stand there staring off into space like an idiot. Did you forget want those big brown and green things in front of you are? They are called trees Leah; say it with me, T-R-E-E-S."

I turned and growled angrily at Jake. What a buffoon.

"I know what a tree is Jake! Now you better start running before I stuff a tree up your ass you asshole!" Jake started running and I chased after him.

"Bad girl Leah; ladies shouldn't cuss like that. It's bad manners." Jake said, still clearly mocking and running for his life.

"JACOB!" I screeched. "COME BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!"

(A/N- Ah, young love)

TPOV:

I swear karma is out to get me.

I've been in this refrigerator for over twenty-four hours. Once I heard the front door open and someone enter the house, but they went upstairs a good while ago and didn't come down for a while. The front door opened and closed again twice and from then on I've been all alone with the sounds of a man snoring upstairs. I was careful not to wake him.

I wasn't starving or thirsty, for God's sake I was in a fridge, but I was freezing. Man, theses things were cold. I think I'm going to get frostbite.

You better hurry Scholastic and come over here to see the first ever talking dog that got frostbite from a refrigerator. Oh, I can see it on the cover now.

What's really sad is that I'll probably die here. In a refrigerator. Due to my own stupidity. A REFRIDGERATOR!

You know, the more I think this over-and I've had plenty of time too-the more idiotic I sound and the more hilarious my situation seems to get. Only it's not funny right this second because I have NO WAY OUT!

I growled at the door, trying to will it open. I was so cold that I was afraid to fall asleep and my body was shaking constantly.

You know, this would be a convenient time for me to suddenly develop telekinesis. Sigh, I guess I can't mutate on will.

Click, Click, Click.

I stopped internally cursing my luck while pacing and froze. I recognized those three clicking sounds. I had heard them many times when we needed to get past a door and Iggy would step forward.

Someone was breaking in. Or more correctly, robbers were breaking in.

It's really official now; karma is out to get me.

MPOV:

I was starving, tired because I hadn't flown in so long which caused the muscles to weaken, and I needed to know were I was now. A bathroom would be nice too, I really needed to pee.

A small house came into view and I recognized the police cruiser in driveway.

Charlie and Bella's house. I was at Charlie and Bella's house. And Bella is probably at the Cullen's place since I don't see that monstrous truck she drove …which means the Chief was probably sleeping.

This was perfect. And ironic. I was going to break into the Chief of Police's house because I had to use the bathroom.

I landed in there vast backyard, right in front of the trees. Folding in my wings but not covering them incase I needed to take off fast, I tip-toed to the back door.

As I unlocked the door I felt a bit of happiness that I had remembered to ask Iggy to teach me how to unlock locks before he died. I never thought of the skill to be useful to know myself until now.

Three clicks alerted me that I had successfully unlocked the thing and I smiled; this was too easy. The door creaked open and I closed it behind me incase someone saw.

I was in the kitchen. My stomach grumbled as my eyes zeroed in on the fridge. Yummy…

I yanked the door open in my haste and instantly my world went black.

And no, it wasn't that I blacked out and fainted from all the delicious food in front of me, my vision went black because some small black thing pounced on top of my eyes, hindering my sight to it's black fur.

"DIE ROBBER, DIE!" an oddly familiar voice came from the creature as it whisper-yelled at me. I had a sudden sense of déjà-vu.

"Ah! Get off me!" I whisper-yelled back. I grabbed the furry beast and threw it onto the floor before me.

My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness while flying so when I saw the tiny black Scottie-shaped mass growling at me from the tiled floor I gasped in shock and couldn't look away.

"No way…" I whispered in shock. He was alive. Another part of my family was alive.

The tiny dog blinked furiously and growled at me in warning.

"Total!" I nearly screamed. I tackled the mutant dog and squeezed him in a hug. He squirmed inside my hold as he tried to breath. I let go reluctantly.

"What the-Max? Max!" Total cried out in joy and I saw tears stream down the dog's face. "I thought you were dead! I couldn't find you or Fang and I just assumed…And now you are here and I'm not alone anymore and I'm out of that damned fridge!" he was yelling by now and both of us immediately shushed realizing our mistake. A groan from the upstairs bedroom confirmed our fears.

"Out Total-now!" I whispered and we both bolted out the door. I swung it behind us, stopping it for a second before shutting it so that it made no noise. I then proceeded to leap into the air, happy that I had left my wings out, and started flapping. I grabbed Total in my arms and went high enough to where I could be seen.

Total was crying excitedly in my arms, murmuring, "I'm out of that damn fridge. Max saved me; just like she saves everyone." over and over again.

"Total? It's OK, I found you and you're out of that f-wait, why were you inside a stranger's refrigerator anyway?" I asked him. Confused didn't even begin to describe how I felt.

Total shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I was stupid when I broke in and well…I got trapped." Total did the dog equivalent of a blush and I laughed at him. More like exploded laughing at him; I was laughing so hard tears filled the corners of my eyes.

"Hahahahahaha, Total, you got stuck inside of a-"

"I know you idiot now hush now, you can laugh your head off later. He's coming outside-fly, fly!" Total commanded.

Usually I would of kicked the mutt for telling me what to do but I was to preoccupied with the sound of the back door-left unlocked my moi-and the grumbling about a 'stupid burglar'. I'm offended, I didn't take anything except my mutant dog and if I was a dumb burglar I would have stayed around for you to arrest me.

We made our way over the town til I found the high school. Perfect.

I landed in the football field and folded in my wings. I then looked at Total. He looked back at me. And then-

"Eew, eew, EEW! Gross Total! No matter how many times you do that it will be gross!" I wiped Total saliva off of where the tiny Scottie had licked me. Nasty.

"Sorry Max; I'm just so excited to see you! Hey, if you made it then did Fang make it too? Where is he; and where were you? I couldn't find you in that forest and I spent two days searching! W-" Total suddenly cut off on his own, right when I was about to do it for him. I gave his horrified expression a curious and worried glance til I noticed what he was looking at.

My neck.

"Total, please, calm down. I'm OK, I'm OK, I'm alright now. Please." I don't know what I was asking him only that I was. I think it was forgiveness.

"You-" He cut off his air, his voice and expression showing he was unable to speak at the moment. Total closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself, but it was all wasted when he opened his eyes again and saw the ugly red ring across my neck.

He looked away from me, from the mark. "You did this." It wasn't a question.

I looked away myself; I couldn't stand the judgment in his tightened eyes. "Yes; I had no choice."

I never had a choice when it came to Fang. I didn't want one either. He would always be my soul mate; even the Voice could not deny that. Me and him together were more destined then me saving the world; and more important.

I don't think he understood. "There is always a choice." He said. His voice was quiet like mine.

"Not in this case." I told him. "He was never a choice; he never had to be. He was already my choice before I consciously made it."

"I know he was. But that doesn't mean you had to-"

"Yes is does. That's exactly what I had to do."

"I should have been there to stop you. Who was it that did?" When had this conversation gotten so serious? First thing we were celebrating being reunited and now we are discussing my almost-suicide.

"A pack of friends. They found me afterwards."

"That explains why I couldn't find you. And this line on your neck explains itself; I guess suicide runs in the family, or Flock." His words made me flinch along with him, but he hid it better. The moon glowed in the sky and let off rays into the field around to two of us, bird-human and dog.

"Sorry." He said.

"Sorry." I replied back. Silence filled the air as we both got lost in our thoughts.

"So, since you're still alive than Fang must also be alive." Total asked, trying to sound more cheery. We both knew the answer to this question immediately; yes. If I hadn't felt the world under my feet again after they got me down then I would have found a way to die; there would have been a way.

I gave a tiny smile. "Well, I'm alive so what do you think?" Total grinned back.

"I'm thinking we have another lost brother to search for." He barked happily.

"Nope; not a brother." I told him, shaking my head. "A lost lover."

The moon set the world inside a loving glow of white light while me and Total laid inside the trees and caught up with the afterwards.

How loving. I personally liked how I moved this chapter from suspense and sadness to comedy to happiness, seriousness, and finally kinship. Total and Max are reunited, so what about Fang? Remember this chapter started from when Fang was dead to his waking up to after that and into the next morning (the last sentence implies that they stayed that way all night, meaning we will catch back up with them in the next morning-maybe.).

Now, I must inform you that my Football team lost (we got creamed; the other team had 7 points within 3 minutes of the 1st quarter) but I had a great time.

By the way, me and my sister Araia (Emo Skittlez) were talking and she said she could be a rapper. I laughed in her face and told her that the only type of rapper she could ever be would be a candy wrapped. She just scoffed at me and said she could rap. Ah, my crazy life; my family should be on a reality show, we're over half as funny as most idiots on those TV shows.

Now, tell me if you noticed the quote that I put in this story. Read carefully and if you can find it tell me what it's from. I'll give you a hint; it was from a piece of writing by either James Patterson or Stephenie Meyer. Anyone who can tell me what story and/or book it was from and who said it will get mentioned!

Want a preview of the next exciting chapter to come?

And next time, on Reunited…

I flew over the world, and my eyes saw everything.

The sharp blades of grass tangled up in one another and knotted with moss, there green exteriors covered with tiny water droplets. A fox coiled to spring on a branch of a tree, it's black-tipped ears and white-tipped pointed tail poking out, and it's red glossy fur hidden well by the thick ivy-covered branches. It's icy blue eyes were focused on the grey rabbit below it with animalistic determination. A wild strawberry bush, full of fresh fruit and surrounded by deer tracks. Some of the red fruit had bite marks on them. It was the perfect time for picking them it seemed, for these were ripe as can be. It reminded me of the day Angel wanted to go pick strawberries.

But that was all. I saw the natural, I saw the unnatural, and I saw nothing more.

Max was nowhere within my sight, nowhere within this forest.

Will I ever find her?

Sing-Along Time! Sing it with me now!

Hella Good by No Doubt (I'm warning you now I've recently had a mild-or not-obsession with them and Britney Spears)

Don't Speak by No Doubt

Hey Baby by No Doubt

Sunday Morning by No Doubt

It's My Life by No Doubt

Spiderwebs by No Doubt

Circus by Britney Spears

If You Seek Amy by Britney Spears (have you found out what it means yet?)

Toxic by Britney Spears

Womanizer by Britney Spears

I told you, obsessions.

~Sweevil Out!